1920 Armenian Overprints on Romanov Stamps

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Dashnak Armenian overprints on Imperial Russian Romanov stamps are always philatelically-inspired and very often forged. On two values - the 4 kopeck and the 10 / 7 kopeck - genuine overprints are quite common and they can be found in multiples. Above, for example, is part of a complete sheet of 100 (minus one stamp ...) in the Peter Ashford collection which is surcharged with the 5 rouble (Type 3) overprint. In the bottom left corner you can see the ink signature of Kaushavili, an early dealer in this material - he sold to Agathon Fabergé, notably -  and whose signature is a good guarantee of authenticity.

It seems clear that the 4 kopeck and 10 / 7 kopeck stamps were still in the stocks of the Armenian post office in 1920, probably several thousand of each value, in sheets. But it is doubtful that any other values were held in anything but part sheets - and for some values I think that overprinted copies were brought to the post office in Yerevan by collectors/ dealers for surcharging. Genuine copies of surcharges on these other values of the Romanov stamps are extremely rare and forgeries are much more common.

The chalk paper of low value Romanovs and the recess printing of the high values are both unsuitable for surcharging by hand. Weak and smudged prints on the 4 kopeck and 10 / 7 kopeck are common. This makes expertising more difficult.

Recently, for the first time, I obtained a 100r surcharge on a 5 rouble Romanov. I show it below grouped with a block of three 10 rouble stamps also surcharged 100 roubles and, once again, from the Ashford collection.

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I think the overprint on the 5 rouble Romanov is genuine - the characteristic features one looks for are there. The ink seems a bit denser but that may be deliberate - it makes the overprint on a dark background a bit clearer. But I will want Stefan Berger's Opinion before I am willing to sell this stamp as genuine. The stamps is signed, twice, ECONOMIST, and it has the house mark RJC of Dr Ceresa.

Added 29 September 2014: Here is Stefan Berger's Opinion:

An Armenian Rarity

There is some difference of opinion as to whether Postal Savings Bank stamps exist with genuine Dashnak period overprints. I think they do, but that they are extremely rare. Here is an example. The stamp has been overprinted with "k.60.k" in black and then later, in a greyish ink, with a large unframed Z over the Imperial Arms. There is an authenticating ERIVAN cancellation of April 1920, which is an appropriate date.
The stamp is signed in pencil by S Serebrakian (and was almost certainly from his stock), in green by Dr R J Ceresa, and it now has a Stefan Berger Short Opinion.

Collecting Single Handstamps: Armenia, Ukraine

Between 1919 and 1923, EVERY issued Armenian stamp is overprinted with a single handstamp - framed Z, unframed Z, rouble surcharges, Gold Kopeck surcharges, Transcaucasian rouble surcharges.
Likewise, in one Ukrainian district - Podillia - all the Trident overprints issued in 1919 - 20 were prepared with single handstamps.

How should single handstamps be collected? Wherever possible, they should be collected in small multiples and, if possible, in horizontal strips. This makes it possible to see variations in the appearance of the handstamp. Normally, one can also see how the clerk who did the work set about his task.

Look at the block of 25 Armenian stamps below. (Click on the image to enlarge). The clerk has re-inked his handstamp for every impression and has applied it with great care. Why? In this case, probably because the 25 r on 50 kopeck combination was not an officially scheduled one; these stamps have been prepared at the request of a collector or dealer or someone simply about to leave the country and trying to convert their cash into something of value. Such items prepared by favour are normally called "counter overprints". In this particular case, the block of 25 provides solid information about the characteristics of the metal 25r handstamp, though when the handstamp is applied using another ink pad, it can look very different.


Now look at the block of 10 Podillia type XIVb on the 1 kopeck imperforate. Here the clerk has overprinted the top row from right to left (he was probably left-handed)having inked his wooden handstamp for the first strike and then used it a total of five times. Then he re-inked the handstamp and proceeded from left to right, again five times. Sometimes, this clerk, working fast, struck six times on five stamps, producing double overprints (listed in the Bulat catalog): such double overprints are particularly associated with type XIVb and presumably with this one clerk. Podillia Tridents were applied in a carefully supervised workshop: inverted, missing or double overprints are uncommon - surprising given the tens of thousands of stamps overprinted.

So this block of 10 is already much more informative than would be a single stamp.

Of course, it's more expensive to collect like this, but even if only some cheaper values are collected this way, it will enhance a collection of single handstamp overprints.

These items are for sale